'The Noel Diary' is Full of Secrets

The Noel Diary (2022) is a Christmas movie that is centered around an old diary. The movie’s premise is summarized as follows: [c]leaning out his childhood home at Christmas, a novelist meets a woman searching for her birth mother. Will an old diary unlock their pasts — and hearts?

The titular diary that the novelist Jake Turner (Justin Hartley) discovers is symbolic and foreshadows elements that connect with the themes of a person’s history and secrets of the past. The diary establishes a connection between him and Rachel Campbell (Barrett Doss), as Rachel searches for her birth mother, Noel. Memories from Jake’s past are mentioned and reflected in the movie, as indicated by the line “Remember when you were eighteen?”

The diary also reveals the author’s relationships with friends and family from his past. Jake Turner, an adult man, goes through the pages to find intriguing information about his history. Some memories are recollections that he had forgotten many years ago.

Numerous entries in the diary that Jake and Rachel peruse are handwritten in black script, with dates formatted as months followed by years. As Jake and Rachel read the entries, the scenes transition from the present to flashbacks of memories from their childhood. Viewers discover that an intriguing individual, even when observed from the outside, carries a significant past. Some aspects of this history are positive, while others, though less favorable, leave a lasting impact on someone’s life. The transition from the past to the present reflects considerable change. Jake Turner and his friends have reached adulthood, and it’s possible that some of these friendships were formed during adolescence. A single event from the past can alter a person’s life in the blink of an eye.